A WWII living history group seeking to recreate the average, day-to-day, mundane experiences of the common German second-line security soldier. Visit our web site at www.festung.net. E-mail: intrenches1945@gmail.com

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

I took some photos to compare an original pre-war aluminum Wehrmacht
mess kits, with some postwar versions. The most important thing to
understand is that there are postwar mess kits that are identical to
real ones, as well as some that are very close, and some that are more
different.

In the above picture, in the top row, the one on the
left is an original pre-war German Wehrmacht mess kit. The one on the
right is a postwar Austrian mess kit. It has a postwar maker and date
stamp, and the lid of the mess kit is perhaps a fraction of a centimeter
taller than the original (although this varies somewhat from maker to
maker on originals). Visually, without inspecting the markings, the mess
kit itself is indistinguishable from the pre-war Wehrmacht model. The
paint is the wrong color. Stripped and repainted, in my opinion, this is
perfect for use.

There are two other postwar styles that are
identical to the pre-war Wehrmacht kits, that I do not have to show:
some 50s dated German ones, some of which were made by some of the same
factories that made them for the Wehrmacht; and postwar Romanian issue
mess kits.

Back to the group picture, the second row: on the
left is a Soviet mess kit from the 50s. This is very nearly identical to
the first Wehrmacht model, with two exceptions. I have included photos
that show these differences in detail. Firstly, it has three rivets
instead of two, holding the handle on to the top part. It also lacks the
three small impressed measuring lines that were on the front of the
bottom half of the kit. The most common wartime Wehrmacht model also
lacked these measuring lines, but these had a steel handle on the top
part, instead of the prewar aluminum handle. Original used and issued
kits are very often found mismatched, even when they appear to have been
used that way during the war; it's not at all implausible that a
soldier in the war could have used a wartime "bowl" and a pre-war "lid."
There were no Wehrmacht kits with three rivets on the handle; whether
or not this difference renders this type unsuitable for reenactment is
subjective.

On the right in the group photo, in the second row, is a "Frankenstein"
kit put together with a postwar East German NVA bottom, and a postwar
West German police lid. The East German kit had a lid with no strap
retaining loop, which in my opinion is visually and functionally so
different from the Wehrmacht kit to render it unsuitable for reenactment
use. The bottom, on the other hand, is very close to the Wehrmacht
type. The difference is on the cast attachment fittings for the wire
bale. The Wehrmacht type is riveted on with two small rivets. These
rivets are not visible on the East German one. The exact size and
appearance of the rivets varies on Wehrmacht kits, but they are always
there. The top of this "Frankenstein" kit is a from a postwar West
German kit. The bottom is in my opinion not suitable for use, and I will
show it later, but the top is identical to pre-war Wehrmacht issue,
except for the markings. I used to use this "Frankenstein" kit myself,
before I found a postwar Austrian one to use.

Of the four types
of mess kits previously described, we would allow any of them to be used
in Sicherungs-Regiment 195, though we discourage use of original kits as they are
historical objects with a collectible value, and we cook with ours over
fires and use them at every event; I would cringe to subject an original
war relic to that kind of abuse. The mess kits on the bottom row in the
group photo have parts that I would not allow to be used in my unit. On
the left is a Russian one, a type used from the 50s into at least the
80s (probably even later). This has the aforementioned three rivets on
the handle, on the top. On the bottom part of this kit, the attachment
fittings for the wire bale are totally different from the Wehrmacht
versions. This difference on the bottom part is too obvious for me to
regard it as usable. On the right in the bottom row, is the postwar West
German police kit lower half. This also has the Russian style bale
attachment fittings.

Where to find these? Quantities of postwar
Romanian and Austrian mess kits pop up on eBay from time to time. I keep
an eye on the various Facebook sales groups where reenactors sell items that
are no longer needed, as there are many of these mess kits in
circulation. I also look at Soviet buy/sell/trade pages where the
Russian ones that I regard as usable (with the German type bale
fittings) come up every so often.

Monday, January 7, 2019

Buckwheat groats are a staple grain in Russia. They are healthy and delicious. Where I live, in the USA, there are Russian specialty grocery stores that offer several brands of buckwheat groats.

Wehrmacht personnel fighting on the Eastern Front during WWII had to learn to eat local food that was available, including buckwheat groats. The following recipes were distributed by the supply section of the 281. Sicherungs-Division, in an order dated December 12, 1941.

Buckwheat Groats (Stew) Ration size 100 g

120 g fresh meat

80 g buckwheat groats

125 g fresh vegetables

125 g potatoes

5 g onions

Season with salt

Trim some fat from the meat, fry it and set it to the side. Dice the meat, fry it, add the finelty chopped onions and fry together for a short time. Add the washed groats, together with water (45 parts water to 1 part groats). Boil for about 1.5 hours. Peel and chop the vegetables, peel the potatoes and slice or dice, add to the pot and cook until done.

The finished dish can be seasoned with salt with yeast extract or seasoning, or thickened with soy.

The flavor of the stew can be improved by using wurst broth instead of the water.

Fried Dumplings (or "Falscher Hase") Made with Buckwheat Groats

60 g fresh meat without bones

20 g buckwheat groats

10 g grated Zwieback

10 g whole soy

5 g onions

10 g fat (from supplies or slice from the meat)

Season with salt and pepper or substitute marjoram for the pepper or savory.

Cook the groats with water (5 parts water to 1 part groats) until you have a firm mass, allow to cool. For meat, take if possible a mixture of half pork ad half beef, and finely grind it in a meat grinder together with the raw onions.

Mix the meat and groats together well, add salt, pepper, soy and grated Zwieback as a binder. Marjoram or savory, if used, should be used very carefully. After mixing well, it is recommended to put the mixture through the meat grinder again. The purpose of this is to achieve maximum mixing of the ingredients, which is of particular importance.

Roll the dumplings (or for "Falscher Hase, the pieces) in grated Zwieback and fry in hot fat.

Cook the groats with water (5 parts water to 1 part groats) until you have a firm mass, allow to cool. For cooked meat, take if possible a mixture of half pork ad half beef, and
finely grind it in a meat grinder together with most of the raw onions and soup greens. Mix the meat and groats together well. Fry the rest of the onions in the sunflower seed oil until brown, add to the mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
If the spread is a little too thick, add some water or sausage broth. The completed mixture yields 120 g.

Possibilities for use: Buckwheat can be used for soup, porridge, dumplings, risotto, groats, and sweet dishes.

In addition, buckwheat is a great substitute for potatoes in stews. Cook the buckwheat in the stew 30-40 minutes.

Buckwheat thickens when it soaks. In general 20-30 g per person is sufficient.

Buckwheat is a good way to extend ground beef in recipes.

In this manner dry buckwheat can be made into a thick porridge:

The ratio is 300 g buckwheat to 1 liter water.

The cooled buckwheat is thoroughly mixed with the ground meat.

Per person, you need:

50 g meat

20 g buckwheat

65 g water

Taking into account losses in cooking, it yields about 120 grams.

Making Grützwurst with Buckwheat

50 g meat with bones, 20 g dry buckwheat

Cook the meat until tender. Soak the buckwheat in the broth to make a thick porridge. The ratio is 200 g buckwheat to 1 liter broth. The cooked meat is ground and mixed in with the groats. Season as usual.

Fry onions in fat, add buckwheat and cook together very briefly. Add liquid (ratio: 3 parts liquid to 1 part groats), bring to a boil, cook on low heat until done. After cooking, mix in some grated cheese or cheese powder.

Buckwheat with Beef or Mutton

Dice and brown the meat. Add finely chopped onions, up to 100 g buckwheat, 1 teaspoon tomato paste, cook together briefly. Add water (1 part buckwheat to 2 parts water), bring to a boil and cook until done.

Buckwheat Groats with Tomatoes

Peel and quarter tomatoes and fry in a little fat. Make the buckwheat groats as described above, 10 minutes before being done, add the tomatoes.

Variations

Buckwheat groats with vegetables: instead of tomatoes, use finely chopped and fried vegetables.

Buckwheat groats with fried bacon cubes: Mix fried diced bacon into the groats. The bacon could also be sprinkled on the groats when serving.

Buckwheat Dumplings

Make a mixture of 1 liter buckwheat flour, 30 grams wheat, salt and a little warm milk. Beat into a thick dough and leave 2 hours in a warm place. Make dumplings using a spoon covered in flour. Drop into boiling salt water, cook uncovered until done. Serve with brown butter or some fried fruit.

Fried Dumplings with Buckwheat

Stir 1 part buckwheat into 2 parts boiling water. Bring to a boil, cook on low heat until done, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool and put through a meat grinder with 1 small onion. Mix together with ground meat (1 part buckwheat to 1 part meat). Season with salt and pepper, form into dumplings with wet hands, fry in oil.

Fried Buckwheat Cakes

Soak 75 g buckwheat in 1/4 liter buttermilk to form a thick porridge. Add salt, fried onion, very little garlic, chopped parsley, 50 g flour. Mix all together and add more buttermilk if too thick. Form into little cakes, fry in hot fat. Meant as a side dish to meat dishes, or in a sauce can also be a main course.

Add 1 part buckwheat to 2 parts boiling milk. Add sugar, lemon peel, a little cinnamon, and cook on low heat until done. If too thick, stir in more milk. Serve cool or warm with fruit sauce or fried fruit. Note: Vanilla, vanilla sugar or vanilla powder are also good for seasoning this.

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Comparison photos showing 5 unaltered original enlisted issue wool Heer
M43 tunics. This first photo shows the collar and lapel shape. To take
these photos I unbuttoned the top button and held the collar open as if
it were pressed open. Many differences are readily apparent. Sometimes
the collar extends past the lapel, sometimes the lapel is wider than the
collar. The relative widths of the collar and the angles of the various
shapes are very visibly different.

This photo shows the sleeve
shapes. I laid the sleeves as flat as I could to show the shape. They
are not all the same. There is a persistent reenactor legend about
"curved sleeves." I'm not sure what is meant by that- but see for
yourself.